Source: Foundry on Pixabay
The Wonderful World of Routine: How I Survived the Pandemic
As the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S. in March of 2020 and our shops and businesses closed down, I was on vacation in the Dominican Republic. I was on a beach, enjoying the sun, hanging out with my kids and our friends, and enjoying buffet meals of delicious seafood. The nagging concern that we might not be allowed to return to the U.S. was completely assuaged by afternoons at the pool, long walks on sun-warmed sand, and a nice cocktail or glass of wine whenever I wanted one.
When we got back on the plane and returned home, however, I was ready for routine. Ready to go back to the office, show off my tan, catch up on a week’s worth of email and see my colleagues.
That never happened. The office had closed. For the foreseeable future, we would be working remotely. I thought it might last a few months. Six at the most. It has been 18 months so far.
I had no idea we would be working from home for this long, but I had decided at the beginning that I was not going to work in my pajamas or lose my sense of structure and purpose.
So I created a routine for myself. I got up each morning at about the same time, took a shower and dressed as if I was going to the office. I put on make-up. I made a nice fragrant cup of coffee and a good breakfast. Then I went to my computer, and launched my work day. I put in a full day of work, just like always.
Source: Free-Photos on Pixabay
I believe this choice has kept me from feeling despair. I’ve stayed positive. I’ve kept up with all of my work, stayed closely connected to my colleagues, and have even achieved some great things for my company during this time.
Looking back, I believe that establishing a daily routine is the best decision I could have made. I’m sharing this in case it helps others. If something feels missing or off-kilter, try improving your daily routine. You might find it to be very uplifting. It might even bring you joy.
Try this. Wake up with the sun. Really enjoy that first warm beverage of the day and then launch your routine. Do this daily, with joy and intention. Rinse and repeat. I can't promise you that it will do for you what it did for me, but it's worth a try! Take care of yourself and stay positive!
Thanks for reading! This is my entry for week three of the #dreemportchallenge. You can read about it here. But if you're going to participate, don't delay. Today's the day.
As always, when I use the #thoughtfuldailypost tag, I want to give a shout-out to Mr. @wesphilbin who helps us all keep it real. You can subscribe to the Thoughtful Daily Post Community here.
And another shout-out to @dreemsteem, one of the best motivators on the platform and the mastermind behind the #DreemPort community. Check out the post about the preferred platform banner here.
Favorite Hive Blogging Platform(s)
As for me, I post using both Peakd and Actifit depending on my purpose (Actifit daily from my phone to share activity and thoughts about the day, and Peakd for all other posts). I find Peakd to be very simple and intuitive. Just a note to all you lovely Ecency people, I always change ecency links over to peakd or hiveblog links; otherwise I have to log in again to upvote your posts!
All DreemPort images are created by @jimramones and are only to be used with permission from DreemPort
Join Hive at Hive.io
Hive is a social blockchain where you can join communities, blog about your favorite topics, curate content and earn cryptocurrency.
Get started
Sign up an account by clicking this referral link: HiveOnboard.
Or start at Actifit.io! Simply click this referral link to get started. Earn tokens by getting active every day and sharing your results.
What a wonderful setting. No wonder you all look happy. :)
You have a smart routine because it preps your mind for work. I come up with routines but then end up not sticking to them. My erratic sleep is partly to blame. Some people also have an evening routine to get better sleep.
I have terribly erratic sleep too. Doesn't it just put the worst crimp on brain power and productivity? I sleep 6 hours at best on a good night. If anythind is troubling me, it drops to 4. Thank goodness for coffee!
Apparently in the olden days, people slept in two shifts. They got up in the middle of the night, pottered about, and then went back to sleep. Maybe it's a natural process that we need to take into account.
Coffee is the drink of the gods. I also drink tea and something called Chocoamine, which is choke-full of theobromine, polyphenols, and other chocolaty goodness. :)
love baby yoda!
You know, two hours of sleep would work great for me. I don't know how people manage to stay asleep for seven or eight hours all at the same time! I talked to a friend today who takes THC for sleep. She went from sleeping about 2 hours a night to sleep to almost 8.
I'll have to look into Chocoamine. Sounds awesome.
I take CBD drops because this is the "mellow" component of cannabis. THC gives me an energy boost, and I take it during the day to clean, exercise, and other energetic activities. ;)
I'm going to have to try that!
I agree a daily routine is one of the best way to maintain a structured work life at home.
When the pandemic struck, it wasn't easy staying home. The temptation to laze around was great and I struggled a bit in this area before I was able to start my routine.
Thanks for sharing this with us. I'd always wondered how you are able to juggle so many things together considering your online commitments. Now I know! 😄
Thank you for participating. 🙂
Yes, you're right, @kemmyb. That is how I juggle so many things. Structure is huge. It's how I squeeze in writing, exercise, community management (you probably know I write all of the prompts and some of the curation for The Ink Well), cooking, gardening, house cleaning, and time with family and friends... plus two book clubs... on top of a 50-hour/week job! (It also helps that I don't need a lot of sleep. Ha ha.) Thanks for your thoughtful comment!
😳 Wow! That's a lot of activities!
Agreed. Less sleep time means more time for other activities.
I shuffle between 4 to 6 hours of sleep too and somehow there never seems to enough time to do everything! 😄 Well done, ma'am. 🙂
If you are like me, you would trade some productivity for more sleep! But some of us are just not designed to be good sleepers, I guess. I do look on the positive side — that I get more life out of life. 😁
Your story is almost similar to mine but with a slight difference. I think I have shared it on Hive a little while back. I can see a happy family in this beautiful image :)
I think I remember reading it, @sunnyag. March is a popular time for travel. That year, people who had their spring break early in the month had no trouble traveling. Many canceled their vacations at the end of the month because everything was shutting down. What a strange time in history. I can’t wait to do international travel again!
We were traveling regularly until March 2021 within ACT in Australia. Everything was fine, then we decided to visit India for a biannual trip (we had had 4 cancellations by then).
Now that the borders are totally closed especially as Canberra is under lockdown and borders totally sealed. We are waiting to return as soon as the borders open. I am missing my clients and coworkers. I sincerely hope the travel resumes earlier than our expectations.
I truly agree with you. I actually did this for 9 months, but then our office was opened back up but for 3 times a week and the rest of the days we work from home.
During those periods I felt, I was active and I didn't feel the lock down that much. This method really helped.
BTW you all look so lovely. ❤️😍😘😘. I enjoyed reading your post. Thank you for sharing your experience and method with us.
Oh thank you so much for your thoughtful comment, @esther-emmanuel. I'm glad you got to go back to your office at least part time.
Truthfully, I prefer working from home and hope to continue. My work is so demanding that I love to be able to focus and avoid the office distractions!
That is an absolute must and best idea! I sleep very little but am pretty structured with my day. For work, it works and keeps you from getting lazy. All these people working in PJ pants. :)
They will never want to go back to work! Hi, Jayna! Looking good!
Thank you for your delightful comment, @dswigle. It's funny because I used to have trouble with motivation to shower and get dressed on the weekends. But routine Has become so rewarding and addictive that I start the day the same way on the weekends!
You're not a sleeper either, hmm? There are so many of us! No wonder the markets for both sleep aids and energy drinks are on fire.
Hobo starts the day's routine when she wakes me up and pesters until I get up. Then it's make coffee, feed cats. Getting dressed, doesn't happen. Sends Hobo into anxiety when I get dressed to put the garbage out on Monday morning.
For some of us, routine is truly everything — especially for some of our furry friends. 🥰